Crossing the border with Blue Jays beat reporter Jordan Bastian.

June 2009

Every once in a while, you see something at the ballpark that you’ve never seen before. One of those moments came in the third inning on Thursday afternoon, when Marco Scutaro pulled something off that is usually reserved for the Little League playbook.

Scutaro drew a walk from Phillies starter Joe Blanton to open the inning — no big deal. He headed up the line, while Blanton caught the throw from the catcher and headed back to the mound. While running up the line, Scutaro could be seen surveying the field.

First, Scutaro checked Blanton, who had his head down. Then, the Jays’ shortstop looked at the positioning of shortstop Jimmy Rollins and second baseman Chase Utley — a pair of All-Stars. What Scutaro saw was an opportunity to sprint for second base.

Scutaro made it work, catching the whole ballpark off guard and stealing second base on a walk. Two batters later, Vernon Wells singled up the middle and Scutaro crossed home plate. It was a rare feat and manager Cito Gaston isn’t sure how long it’s been since he’s seen someone attempt it.

“Boy, I can’t remember, to be honest with you,” Gaston said. “He’s been playing just absolutely outstanding all year — just really heads-up baseball with a lot of things he does. His head’s in the game. He’s relaxed.”

Over the past two games against the Phillies, Scutaro reached base in nine of his 11 plate appearances. He had four singles, one double, four walks and four runs scored. Quite a response to going 0-for-6 on Friday night. Entering Thursday, Scutaro ranked fourth in the Majors with 124 times on base.

For those who might have missed it — shameless plug — I wrote a feature about Scutaro this past Monday. Catch you all from D.C.

The postgame notes that were passed out by the local PR department after last night’s game included this little item: “B.J. Ryan has not allowed a run in eight straight appearances.” This after Ryan allowed a hit and walked two to load the bases while working with a 7-1 lead in the ninth inning.

Brandon League came in the game with one out and bailed Ryan out by striking out Jayson Werth and inducing a game-ending groundout off the bat of Pedro Feliz. True, Ryan wasn’t charged with any runs when the smoke cleared, but it was another shaky outing by the Jays’ $10 million reliever.

When Scott Downs — Ryan’s replacement as the club’s stopper — went down with a left foot injury, Gaston didn’t hesitate to name the new closer: Jason Frasor. Gaston also rattled off the names of Brandon League and Jesse Carlson as possibile fill-ins. Ryan’s name didn’t come up and his latest performance didn’t help his cause.

“It’s not so much his velocity,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said about Ryan. “He doesn’t have any control. From what I hear, he throws the ball pretty good in the bullpen. When he gets on the mound, he’s been a bit off. We could really use him, especially now with Downs gone. Hopefully he gets better.”

Over that eight-game scoreless streak, Ryan has still allowed four hits and four walks, while throwing only 56 percent of his pitches for strikes. Against the Phillies, with such a large lead, he could have pounded the strike zone with room for error. Instead, Ryan struggled and registered strikes on just six of his 17 tosses.

OTHER ITEMS: As assumed, Brett Cecil will be called up to start for the Blue Jays on Saturday against the Nationals. Cecil gives the Jays four rookies (Scott Richmond, Ricky Romero, Brad Mills) and four lefties (Romero, Mills, and Brian Tallet) in the rotation. … Caught up with Jeremy Accardo today and he talked about nearly having Tommy John last year and the frustration of waiting so long to be called up this year. Check out bluejays.com later for the story.

REMEMBER WHEN? At the July 31 trade deadline last year, the Blue Jays nearly swung a trade with the Mariners for outfielder Raul Ibanez. Headed to Seattle would’ve been Frasor and first baseman Lyle Overbay, but the M’s nixed the deal at the last minute. This year, Ibanez has hit .312 with 22 homers and 59 RBIs through 62 games for the Phils. On Thursday, he landed on the DL with a strained left groin.

Go figure that on the day the Blue Jays place three pitchers on the disabled list, head trainer George Poulis is named to the American League All-Star team’s staff. Asked if he received the honor because he was the busiest trainer in baseball, Poulis laughed.

“I don’t know if that’s a requirement,” he said. “But, if it is, I’m your guy.”

News spread early on Wednesday that right-hander Casey Janssen was going to be placed on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right shoulder. Later, not surprisingly, it was announaced that Doc Halladay (strained right groin) and closer Scott Downs (sprained left big toe) would join Janssen on the DL on Thursday.

Brad Mills will take Janssen’s turn in the rotation on Thursday, but no replacements have been named for Halladay or Downs. Since they aren’t being placed on the DL officially until Thursday, Toronto is going to wait to announce the subsequent moves. Brett Cecil seems likely to be promoted and Jason Frasor will step in as the closer for now.

Halladay’s DL stay is retroactive to Saturday and he is eligible to come off on June 28, when the Jays are at home against the Phillies. Halladay was asked if he expected to be ready by then and he said “Absolutely.” Quickly adding that he was going to play it smart and return when he was completely 100 percent.

Doc threw in a bullpen session here today and threw about 20 pitches before calling it quits. He said he still felt some tightness, more when he was on the mound than when he was doing long toss in the outfield. Under the circumstances, Halladay felt it was better to be cautious and take time to recover.

So, if you’re keeping score at home, all of Toronto’s five starters from last season are now out of the Jays’ rotation: Halladay, Jesse Litsch (right elbow), Dustin McGowan (right shoulder), Shaun Marcum (right elbow) and A.J. Burnett (Yankees). Mills will be the 11th different starter used and fifth different rookie this season. And it’s only June. Yikes.

More on all of this later on bluejays.com.

Manager Cito Gaston was asked again today about last night’s debacle here against the Phils. Without mentioning Rios by name, Gaston did express some disgust over how the Jays ran the bases in the ugly 8-3 win. Rios didn’t tag up on a play in the ninth inning, costing the Jays a crucial run at the time.

“I just didn’t like the way we ran the bases,” Gaston said. “I really can understand guys not getting hits with guys in scoring position, because in this sport, seven out of 10 times you can be wrong or you don’t get the job done. But running the bases is pretty easy and we didn’t run the bases properly last night and it almost cost us the ballgame.

“It’s something we addressed. [Bench coach Brian] Butterfield and [third base coach] Nick Leyva talked to those guys and we’ll make sure we try to get it right next time.”

UPDATE: Jays will be calling up Jeremy Accardo from Triple-A Las Vegas to replace Downs.

Us Blue Jays scribes took a few minutes this afternoon to sit down with Matt Stairs here at Citizens Banks Park. This after the first swing I saw him take in the cage resulted in a deep, towering home run to right field.

Stairs, 41, is in the last year of the two year contract he originally signed with the Blue Jays and was asked what the future holds. It’s no secret he wants to try his hand at managing, but he isn’t ruling out continuing on as a pinch hitter, or maybe as a designated hitter somewhere.

“I still want to play. I still feel healthy,” said Stairs, who was traded to Philadelphia last August. “Am I going to play? Hard to say. It really depends on how the year goes. Everybody knows I want to get into managing, so we’ll see what happens.”

Asked about that little home run he hit in the playoffs with the Phillies last season, a small smile crept across Stairs’ face. You remember the one?

October 13. Dodger Stadium. Game tied, 5-5 in the eighth inning with L.A. closer Jonathan Broxton on the hill. Stairs crushed a pitch, sending it deep into the right-field stands to send the Phils to an NLCS win and one step closer to the World Series.

Where does that moment rank for Stairs?

“That was No. 1,” Stairs said. “I’ve hit a lot of home runs, but that was way up there. It was funny. I was talking to young [John] Mayberry Jr. — he came up and hit his first home run in Yankee Stadium. I asked him ‘Could you feel your legs?’ and he said no and I said, ‘Me neither.’

“I remember giving a high-five at first and a high-five at third and all I was thinking about was ‘Don’t trip,'” he said with a laugh. “It was one swing of the bat that changes your life and puts you on the map for a long, long time to come.”

Literally. Stairs’ name will be on a street sign in his hometown of Fredericton, New Brunswick when he does decide to hang up the spikes.

“They’re naming a street after me,” he said. “But we’ll put that on hold a little while. They already have a sign in the ballpark there, talking about the home run. When I retire, I’ll do it in Fredericton and we can do the street thing at the same time.”

DOC WATCH: Roy Halladay (right groin) played catch again this afternoon and is scheduled to throw in a bullpen session on Wednesday. Manager Cito Gaston said the club still isn’t ruling him out as a possibility for Saturday’s start in Washington D.C. If you ask me, I think that’s doubtful.

INTERESTING: In the middle of our pregame sit-down with Gaston, he was pulled into the clubhouse by head trainer George Poulis. Gaston didn’t say what the meeting was for after he returned to the dugout. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.

COMING SOON: I chatted with Blue Jays hitting coach Gene Tenace for a while today about the ongoing struggles of Vernon Wells. Check bluejays.com later for what Geno had to say about the topic.

Don’t believe everything you see on the internet. Now, I’m not going to sit here and defend Blue Jays right fielder Alex Rios’ profanity-laced attack on a fan last weekend He definitely should have kept his trap shut. But, the infamous Youtube clip does not provide the luxury of context.

When Rios denied an autograph to a young fan after a Toronto charity event that night, he did so when he saw a large crowd of autograph seekers waiting to see if he’d sign. Rios told the kid “Not tonight,” and the boy started to walk away. Rios would have felt obligated to sign more than just one and he didn’t want to keep his family waiting.

The boy then approached him a second time, which could mean a couple things: He was just really excited to see Rios and he really wanted his signature, or he might possibly have been sent to get the autograph by autograph hounds. This happens all the time and, as it turns out, a team source told me they have seen this particular boy many times previously with the same group of people he was with that evening.

Of course, that’s when a fan sent some insults Rios’ way and the Jays’ outfielder did what he should not have done, shouted back with some nasty words of his own. The lesson here is to realize that in today’s age of technology and social networking, anything and everything can wind up online for all to see. “I’m just going to say ‘Thanks’ next time,” said Rios, who has apologized pubicly for what took place.

DOC WATCH: The new part has not arrived yet to fix Roy Halladay, so he’s still considered day-to-day. “Yeah, he’s like a cyborg,” joked GM J.P. Ricciardi. Halladay (strained right groin) threw on flat ground in left field for a few minutes on Sunday and he will indeed miss his next scheduled start on Wednesday. If Halladay says he can start on Saturday, “Then he’ll pitch Saturday,” said Ricciardi.

SNIDER UPDATE: Travis Snider is currently on the disabled list with a back injury after tweaking an old injury while with Triple-A Las Vegas, according to Ricciardi. The GM said the injury dates back to something Snider did when he was younger, and it will likely be another two weeks before the young outfielder is cleared to begin playing again.

The Blue Jays do not plan on placing ace Roy Halladay on the 15-day disabled list. An MRI exam on Saturday afternoon confirmed that the pitcher suffered a mild right groin strain and he is considered day-to-day.

Halladay (10-1, 2.53 ERA) will not make his next start, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday in Philadelphia. Right-hander Scott Richmond will take Halladay’s turn for that outing against the Phillies.

Toronto will need a starter for its Interleague tilt on the road against the Nationals on Saturday, June 20. Halladay may or may not take the hill for that contest, depending on how he is feeling. If he skips that turn as well, Halladay would potentially have at least 10 days off between outings with team off-days scheduled for Monday and June 22.

Halladay exited his start on Friday night against the Marlins in Toronto after throwing two pitches to Jeremy Hermida to open the fourth inning. Halladay felt a sharp pain in his groin on the second offering — a 93 mph fastball — and still had discomfort during a subsequent warmup pitch.

No update on Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay this morning. He was nowhere to be found and his strained right groin was also not available for comment.

Halladay was still undergoing tests and manager Cito Gaston said he Doc’s status was still up in the air. More news might be coming after this afternoon’s game or tomorrow.

“I know about as much as I could tell you last night,” Gaston said. “He’s still got some tests to do. They haven’t been done. Some time today, hopefully.”

Considering the type of injury, it would seem to make sense to have Halladay skip the Interleague slate this coming week. With off-days on consecutive Mondays, that’d give Halladay 10 days off and he’d only miss one start.

If Halladay says he can make his next start — as unlikely as that is to happen — Gaston said his pitcher would not be taking any unneccesary swings in the batter’s box while playing in a National League park.

“We’d use the ol’ take sign,” Gaston said with a smile. “We wouldn’t recommend he swing the bat. I don’t recommend they swing the bat now. We do try to bunt. But, these guys little bit of egos, so they really won’t go up there and just take three. I wouldn’t care if they did.”

The most likely scenario is that Scott Richmond takes Halladay’s original turn on Wednesday in Philadelphia. That would mean that the Blue Jays would need a starter on Saturday, when Richmond was initially slated to go. I highly doubt that Halladay would be starting Saturday.

“Have you guys ever had a groin injury?” Gaston asked reporters. “I don’t think he’ll be able to pitch, myself — I really don’t. If he is, that’s great, but I don’t know. That’s going to be a tough one. I hope he is.

“My side is trying to think about who I’m going to put in his spot right now. Right now, if he’s not able to go, it’s probably Scott Richmond. Then, we have to try to figure out who we’re going to pitch in Washington next Saturday.

“That’s the way I’m thinking right now. I’m hoping he’s going to be OK, but to walk off the field like that — for Doc — there’s got to be something going on.”

I come back after a nice week off back home with family and what happens? Blue Jays manager Consistent Cito Gaston creates chaos at the Rogers Centre! For the first time this year, Gaston decided to give his lineup a good old-fashioned shake-up.

Gaston juggled the Nos. 3-6 spots of the Jays’ batting order. Vernon Wells is out of the cleanup spot and batting third. Alex Rios is out of the No. 3 spot and hitting sixth. Adam Lind is now cleaning up rather than batting fifth, which is now home to Scott Rolen.

Before altering the lineup — something Gaston has been considering for a while — he spoke with each hitter individually about his plans.

“I talked to those guys back during the last homestand,” Gaston said. “[I said] that I might change the lineup and I just want them to know that. It’s not that I lost any confidence or trust in them.”

The changes were made to, obviously, hopefully breathe some life into the bats of Rios and Wells, who have been struggling mightily.

Rios has hit .156 over his past eight games, while Wells has hit just .121 over his last 10. Overall, Rios is batting .261 with seven homers and 27 RBIs in 61 games and Wells is hitting .250 with five homers (none since May 6) and 28 RBIs over 62 games.

“To continue to compete in this division, we’re going to have to have those two guys do something,” Gaston said. “Hopefully, that’ll help Vernon by getting him out of the fourth spot and moving him up a little bit and move Rios down.”

Why did Gaston opt to move Rios to sixth and not Wells?

“Vernon probably has a little more experience,” Gaston said. “He probably can handle [struggling] a little bit better — he has handled it well.”

Gaston said the tweaks were to “just maybe try to take a little pressure off of Rios and hope that he can get back to where we like to see him.”

As for Lind (.438/.460/.875 in his last 12 games) batting cleanup, Gaston said he didn’t want the young left-handed hitter to alter his approach.

“The more you see this kid all the time, he’s just getting better,” Gaston said. “I don’t think he’s going to look at it one way or the other. I certainly will speak to him and tell him to be himself.”

Gaston said he considered moving Lyle Overbay (.396/.492/.698 in his last 17 games with an AL Player of the Week honor along the way) higher in the order, but he didn’t want to have Lind and Overbay’s lefty bats back-to-back in the order.

So, for the time being, this will likely be Gaston’s primarly lineup against right-handers.

Blue Jays right-hander Jesse Litsch is scheduled to have Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery on his throwing elbow, according to manager Cito Gaston. The operation will likely take place on Friday and will be performed by arm specialist Dr. James Andrews.

Litsch has been rehabbing his arm at the Jays’ complex in Florida since mid April and has met with Andrews twice before coming to this decision. In both prior visits, an MRI exam revealed no ligament damage and Litsch continued on his throwing program.

Litsch, 24, entered the season as the Blue Jays’ No. 2 starter, as he was pushed up the depth chart with the losses of Shaun Marcum (right elbow) and Dustin McGowan (right shoulder) to injury and A.J. Burnett’s departure to the Yankees in free agency. Last year, in his second season with Toronto, Litsch went 13-9 with a 3.58 ERA over 29 games.

On April 13, Litsch pulled himself out of a starter on the road against the Twins after throwing 50 pitches over just three innings. In his two outings this year, the right-hander had allowed nine runs on 14 hits over nine innings. After Litsch was placed on the DL on April 14, the Jays decided to move left-hander Brian Tallet out of the bullpen and into the rotation.

“At the end of the day, it always comes back to best available player. You hate to try and force a shortstop and look past a potential top rotation starter and you end up with a shortstop who’s marginal. I think these players are so far away from what they might ultimately become that I think you really have to trust your scouts, trust your evaluations, and take the players that you believe bring the most value to the table.”

— Jon Lalonde, Blue Jays director of scouting

The Jays have five picks among the first 104 selections in tonight’s First-Year Player Draft, two being compensatory picks for losing pitcher A.J. Burnett to the Yankees in free agency. As Lalonde noted this week, Toronto’s philosophy is to go with who they deem the best available player on the board with the club’s first selection.

Toronto has the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as pick Nos. 37 (first-round sandwich round), 68 (second round), 99 and 104 (third round). This year, it’s not really clear who the Jays are targeting for pick No. 2. A few names being tossed around have been LSU OF Jared Mitchell, Sacramento State OF Tim Wheeler, Notre Dame OF A.J. Pollock, Stanford RHP Drew Storen, H.S. LHP Chad James and Kennesaw State RHP Chad Jenkins.

This year’s Draft is heavy on college arms and that could be the way the Jays lean. Taking James would stray from the organizational trend of picking high school pitchers early, but Toronto selected his brother, Justin James, in the 2003 Draft, so there is a history there. Jays Scouting Advisor Smoke Laval — formerly the LSU head coach from 2002-06 — also has ties to Mitchell.

Be sure to follow my updates throughout the Draft on twitter (@MLBastian) and check back here on the blog. I’ll update this post with each of Toronto’s picks throughout the evening. The Draft opens at 6 p.m. ET.

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